Ever feel like you’re swimming in “insights” but still have no clue what your team’s really getting done? You’re not alone. For managers and team leads, tracking performance metrics often sounds good in theory—until you’re neck-deep in dashboards that don’t actually help anyone get better.
This guide is for anyone who actually wants to use metrics in Praiz, not just stare at them. Whether you’re a first-time manager, a player-coach, or just the unlucky one stuck with the admin login, I’ll walk you through how to set up meaningful tracking, avoid common traps, and use Praiz to actually learn something about your team.
Let’s cut through the noise and get practical.
Why Team Metrics Matter (and When They Don’t)
Before you start pulling reports, it’s worth asking: what are you actually trying to improve? Metrics in Praiz are only as useful as the questions you’re asking. If you’re tracking something just because you can, you’ll end up chasing your tail—and probably annoying your team, too.
Good reasons to track team performance: - Spotting bottlenecks or slowdowns before they become huge problems - Recognizing wins and giving credit where it’s due - Identifying patterns that lead to better decisions (not just more meetings)
Bad reasons: - Micromanaging or “gotcha” tracking - Creating vanity reports for your boss - Tracking so many things that nobody knows what’s important
Pro tip: Pick 2-3 metrics that matter for your actual goals. Ignore the rest until you have a reason to care.
Step 1: Decide What You Actually Want to Measure
Praiz gives you a big toolbox, but you don’t need every wrench. Start by figuring out what “good” looks like for your team. Is it speed? Quality? Collaboration? Something else?
Common Metrics People Track in Praiz
- Task completion rate: Are folks finishing what they start?
- Time to resolution: How long does it take to clear tickets, tasks, or projects?
- Collaboration frequency: Who’s working together, and how often?
- Feedback cycles: How quickly does feedback loop back into the work?
- Meeting effectiveness: Are your meetings actually moving things forward?
Honest take: If you’re not sure why you’d care about a metric, skip it for now. You can always add more later.
Step 2: Set Up the Basics in Praiz
Once you know what to track, it’s time to actually set up your workspace in Praiz. Here’s how to do it without making things harder for yourself:
- Create clear project and team structures
- Break down big projects into logical teams or pods.
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Make sure ownership is clear—ambiguity is the enemy of good metrics.
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Standardize task and ticket naming
- Use conventions your team understands (“Q2 Website Launch” beats “Random Tasks”).
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Avoid cryptic codes or jargon unless everyone’s genuinely on board.
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Configure your workflow
- Set up statuses that match your real process (e.g., “In Progress,” “Review,” “Done”).
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Don’t bother with 10 stages if you only use 4 in real life.
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Enable tracking features
- Turn on automatic logging for actions you care about (task updates, comments, etc.).
- If you want to track meetings, make sure calendar integrations are enabled.
Ignore anything you don’t need. Every extra field or step is just more stuff to maintain later.
Step 3: Customize and Use Dashboards (without Drowning)
Praiz’s dashboards can be genuinely useful—or just another digital junk drawer. Here’s how to make sure they help, not hinder:
How to Build a Useful Dashboard
- Start with a blank slate. Don’t just use the default widgets; most are there to look impressive, not to help you.
- Add only your key metrics. Remember those 2-3 priorities? Show them front and center.
- Limit vanity stats. Who cares how many comments were left if it doesn’t tie back to real work?
Example: A Simple, Useful Dashboard
- Open tasks by assignee (shows who’s overloaded)
- Average time to close tasks (shows pace)
- Recently completed milestones (shows progress)
What to skip:
- Widget spam (if you don’t know what a chart means, delete it)
- “Engagement” stats that don’t link to outcomes
Pro tip: Review your dashboard every month. If you haven’t looked at a widget in weeks, get rid of it. Less is more.
Step 4: Dig Into the Data (But Don’t Obsess)
Once your dashboards are set, it’s tempting to go full data scientist. Resist the urge. Instead:
- Look for trends, not blips. One slow week isn’t a crisis. Watch for real patterns.
- Ask “why?” not just “what?” If something’s off, talk to your team before jumping to conclusions.
- Celebrate wins publicly. If performance is up, call it out. If it’s down, focus on fixing, not blaming.
Questions Worth Asking
- Are some tasks always stalling at the same stage?
- Is one person consistently overloaded?
- Has the team’s pace changed after a process tweak?
Honest take: The best insights usually come from talking to people, not just staring at charts. Use data as a conversation starter, not a verdict.
Step 5: Share Results Without Weaponizing Metrics
Metrics should help your team get better—not just make someone look bad in a meeting. Here’s how to keep things healthy:
- Share context, not just numbers. Explain what you’re seeing and why it matters.
- Ask for feedback. Your team probably knows what’s really slowing them down.
- Use metrics to spot problems, not assign blame. If you turn data into a stick, people will stop trusting you (and Praiz).
What Not to Do
- Don’t send a daily leaderboard email unless you want people to game the system.
- Don’t single out underperformers in public dashboards.
- Don’t obsess over minute-by-minute tracking—trust your team to do their jobs.
Pro tip: If your team starts “working to the metric” instead of the actual goal, it’s time to rethink what you’re tracking.
Step 6: Adjust As You Go
Your first setup in Praiz won’t be perfect—and that’s fine. The trick is to treat metrics as a living thing, not a set-and-forget checkbox.
- Do a regular review (once a month or quarter). Ask: are these metrics still helping us improve?
- Tweak what you measure. Drop what’s not useful. Add new stuff only if there’s a clear reason.
- Check for unintended consequences. Sometimes, tracking a metric changes behavior in weird ways (“Everyone closes tickets but stops helping each other”).
Honest take: Most teams need fewer metrics, not more. Cut ruthlessly.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
Works: - Clear, simple metrics tied to real goals - Dashboards that show actual progress (not just activity) - Regular, honest conversations about what the data means
Doesn’t Work: - Tracking everything “just in case” - Public shaming or leaderboard culture - Getting hung up on week-to-week noise
Ignore: - Any metric you wouldn’t actually act on - Super granular data unless you’re running a call center - Fancy charts that look good but never lead to decisions
Wrap-Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Worship the Dashboard
Praiz is a solid tool for tracking team performance—as long as you use it like a tool, not a crystal ball. The best teams use metrics to start conversations, not end them. Start simple, focus on what matters, and don’t be afraid to ditch what’s not working.
Check your dashboards, talk to your team, and remember: no metric is worth more than actually helping people do their best work. If something’s not helping, scrap it and move on. That’s real progress.